Alien: Covenant Adds Another Terrific Actor To Its All-Star Cast

Just the fact that Sir Ridley Scott is returning to the world of Alien again in the upcoming Alien: Covenant should be enough to start sci-fi nuts salivating like the iconic Xenomorphs. His previous endeavor to this realm, Prometheus, left many fans wanting (it’s admittedly flawed, but I still dig it), but the idea of Scott, faraway worlds, and alien peril is too good to not get psyched about. And because this is Ridley Scott, and because it’s an Alien movie, he’s putting together and awesome cast, including the latest addition, The Hateful Eight’s Demian Bichir.

Though he was most recently seen in the post-Civil War American frontier of Quentin Tarantino’s western The Hateful Eight, Demian Bichir is going to very different cinematic territory for one of his next movies. Deadline reports that the 52-year-old Mexican actor, who comes from a long line of well known thespians, will crew up with Ridley Scott and venture into deep space in Alien: Covenant.

There are no details given about Demian Bichir’s role in Alien: Covenant, but it never hurts to have an Oscar-nominated actor in your film. He earned a nod for the 2011 drama A Better Life.

Though information is sparse—and by sparse I mean nonexistent—given what we know of the plot of Alien: Covenant, it’s possible to infer something about how he’ll fit into the narrative. Set ten years after the events of Prometheus, the follow up revolves around the crew of a ship called the Covenant. They’re looking for a planet to colonize, and when they come across one that looks perfect, they get more than they bargained for. The only inhabitant of what appears at first to be a paradise is the synthetic David (Michael Fassbender), one of two survivors from the previous film. Given this set up, the obvious supposition is that Demian Bichir will be one of the crewmembers on the Covenant. And also considering what we know about the Alien universe, it seems likely he’ll get disemboweled by some kind of horrific space monster. That’s just a guess though.

In addition to Michael Fassbender, Demian Bichir joins a cast that includes fellow newcomers Danny McBride and Katherine Waterston. We don’t know who McBride will play, but Waterston’s character is reportedly named Daniels and is described as a lead character. Given that Ridley Scott has said a number of times how Alien: Covenant, and subsequent films, will lead to Alien, some have speculated that Daniels may be some ancestor or Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, but that’s all just guess work at this point.

While Michael Fassbender is reprising his role—there have even been rumors that he’ll play two characters—the other survivor of the Prometheus will not appear. Noomi Rapace’s Dr. Elizabeth Shaw lived through the first film, but won’t appear in Alien: Covenant. This makes at least a bit of sense. After all, surviving for ten years in space with no supplies is bound to be difficult. David doesn’t need to eat or breathe or drink, but Shaw, as a human, most certainly does.

Alien: Covenant is scheduled to begin filming in Australia later this year, and will hit theaters October 6, 2017.